REDDING ROAD RACE NEWSLETTER 19 Volume 5 4/24/19 1. GIFT REVEAL Phone Wallet – This goes on the back of your phone to put cards & $ in A field of flowers in Redding, a couple of miles from New Pond Farm BIBS 2. WARMUP RUN, SATURDAY MAY 4TH WHERE: From the Farm WHEN: 3pm (conveniently during bag pickup) WITH: The Gouchers, The Rodgers and anybody who wants to run DISTANCE: 3 miles, the beginning of the races COST: Free DESCRIPTION: We’ll take it slow, waiting for everyone at each turn 3. Kara Goucher Shares Why She’s Leaving Roads for the Leadville Trail Marathon by Lisa Jhung, Runners World The two-time Olympian will make the high-altitude event her trail running race debut. All I had going for me in my attempt to keep up with Kara Goucher were the rocks. The two-time Olympian and 2:24:52 marathoner is relatively new to trail running, and on our car ride over to a trailhead in Boulder, Colorado’s, Chautauqua Park, she claimed to be “terrible at it.” And so, to abate my own fears of being dropped by the pro—even on a casual run—I chose a particularly rocky and technical route. The purpose of our jaunt was to chat about Goucher’s transition from road racing to trails. After a disappointing DNF because of an injured hamstring at January’s Houston Marathon, the 40-year-old athlete hinted via Instagram that she wanted to take her running “in a new direction.” She told Runner’s World after the race, “I have my eye on a race in June, but it is not on the roads.” That goal race, she revealed to Runner’s World, is the Leadville Trail Marathon on June 15. The 26.2-mile course, located roughly two hours from her home in Boulder, winds through rocky, rugged terrain and tops out at 13,185 feet in elevation. It’s a far cry from the road routes Goucher is used to— and will certainly demand a different style of running. “I’m scared of downhills, especially,” she admitted on our drive to the trail. She explained that while she grew up running on trails in Duluth, Minnesota, and frequented nearby mountain trails while on the University of Colorado cross-country team, for many years she became what she calls a “surface diva.” “As I got older and more injury-prone, I did less and less [off-road] running,” she said. “I was worried about stepping funny, throwing a hip out, rolling an ankle.” And so she’d opt for 12 miles on a treadmill when the roads were slick with even the faintest bit of ice. “Now I want to get back into nature a little bit more,” Goucher said. “I grew up getting lost in the forest and coming back muddy and dirty. That’s when I fell in love with running. I want to explore more.” On the early March day we met up, we explored a route that starts on a wide, smooth incline before turning to rocky singletrack, climbing and descending through dense woods that occasionally open up to sweeping mountain views. To my dismay, a recent snowstorm has covered all the rocks, leaving us to run on packed snow. I ask her loads of questions so she uses her breath to answer and I can use mine to keep up. Goucher said that, since switching to trails six weeks ago, she’s loved every run she’s been on, including a recent outing with ultrarunner Cat Bradley. “But,” she added, “I am not the same athlete on the trails as I am on the road. I am not confident, I am tip-toe-y.” When our run finally reached a point on the trail where the snowmelt has revealed rocks and ice patches, I saw it: the Olympic runner, unconfidently tip- toeing over the ground. We both attached traction devices to our shoes and continued on the trail, which had turned back to snow. On a long climb, she kindly slowed the pace so we could continue to talk. One of the most refreshing parts about running trails, Goucher explained, is that she doesn’t have to worry so much about pace. “I’m kind of enjoying not constantly obsessing and checking my watch,” she said. “Since I was 12 years old, I’ve just stared at my watch. I’ve always been so obsessed with how fast I was going. But on the trails, it just doesn’t matter. I can actually look up and see where I am. I’ve lived here for so many years and I never really see how beautiful it is.” She admitted to checking her data after each run, but promised that that’s just to compare her trail runs—she’s tracking her progress on the rocky routes separately from her past training on the road. [Let Runcoach unleash your full potential with personalized training, expert coaching, and proven results.] Another difference between road and trail running culture, which she discovered recently on a group trail run with Trail Sisters and Life Time, is how trail running groups stop at junctions to make sure no one gets left behind. “I was like, ‘Wait, we’re stopping?’ That’s not what I’m used to,” Goucher laughed. “On a road run, when you get dropped, you get dropped. But on that trail run, we stopped—and no one stopped their watches or anything! It was different. Everyone was looking out for each other.” Though she’s enjoying her break from road racing for now, Goucher noted that she isn’t entirely done with pavement; rather, she’ll run three to four days per week on trails, and the remaining days of the week on roads, where she can “just let go a little bit” on a surface where she can run fast. “I still want to run hard. I like the way that feels,” she said. Still, she knows she must spend the majority of her time on the kind of terrain she’ll face in Leadville in June. She’s also planning to train at altitude to prepare for the mountain marathon—but not at the expense of time with her family, because her goal in Leadville is not the same as it would be at a road race. “I’m not going to try to light the world on fire or prove anything,” she said. “But the more comfortable I feel, the more enjoyable the experience will be. I know I may twist an ankle, but for so long, I’ve been afraid of falling and hurting something that would keep me from running. Right now, the reward is worth it, because it’s a new adventure.” And though she says she might return to road racing and run another road marathon at some point, for now she’s happy learning something new. “After the Olympic Trials [in 2016, where she missed making the Olympic Team by one spot], I felt like I had something to prove,” she said. “I don’t feel like that anymore. I still want to run hard, but going up those hills today were hard in a different way—I was out of breath and have to walk for a second, which is new for me.” After our six-mile run through the snow-covered mountain (and yes, I was gassed; she was not), I asked if she thought getting back on the trails was making her feel kid-like, bringing her back to her roots as a trail runner. “I know it’s in there somewhere,” she said. “It’s been buried for 30 or 35 years, but I know I can bring it back out.” 4. Bill Rodgers, still running more than 50 years later By Alissa Groeninger It was the fall of 1963, and President John F. Kennedy spoke to the nation about the importance of physical fitness. Bill Rodgers was in 10th grade, just 15 years old. That's when it started. Rodgers ran a mile for gym class - and proved to be the fastest kid in school. He's hardly stopped running since. In the process, he's won marathons on five continents, thrice been named the top marathoner in the world, and won the Boston and New York marathons four times each in five years. "People have asked me for years, 'Why do you run?' And my thought is, 'Well why don't you?'" he said. Rodgers attributes his youthful speed to bike riding. "Build your quads, build your hearts," he says about biking. With his brother Charlie and best friend Jason, the future marathon legend joined the high school cross country team. "Once you become a runner, once you get over those early weeks and months where you're kind of struggling," Rodgers said. "Once you can get beyond that … You really change your life." And you stay a runner. Aside from a brief post-college period in which he took up smoking, running has been a mainstay in Rodgers' life. During his competitive career he ran 130 miles a week. His running statistics are otherworldly. Between 1975 and 1980 Rodgers won the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon four times each. Twice, he broke the American record at Boston, running in 2:09:27 in 1979. His success at the Boston Marathon led to his nickname, "Boston Billy." It's a fitting name for the man who is perhaps America's most iconic distance runner.